Board Principles

Our Board comprises the trustees of Ignite. In effect, they operate as the guardians of the kaupapa of Ignite Consultants - its purposes, its organisational culture and its core focus. This means that:

the Board commits to understanding and continuing to explore Ignite’s kaupapa and how it is put into practice;

It seeks to trust, empower and, where appropriate, guide the Executive in its embodiment and implementation of Ignite’s kaupapa;

It actively monitors and seeks to mitigate risks to the organisation.

Our Board’s operating principles are:

​

We bear the ultimate responsibility and risk for the ongoing management and operations of the Trust.
This means; we take a prudent long term view for managing the Trust’s assets to ensure they are used as effectively as possible to achieve the purposes; we actively monitor and seek to mitigate risks to the organisation.

We are the guardians of the kaupapa of the organisation (purposes, culture, focus, role).
This means; we commit to understanding what the kaupapa is, and continue to explore our kaupapa; we trust, empower and where appropriate, guide the Executive in its understanding and delivery of the kaupapa; we continue to share knowledge and guidance drawing on the experiences of those currently and previously involved with Ignite.

We demonstrate care for all of those involved in Ignite.
This means; we will seek to ensure students, mentors, communities and organisations to all feel welcomed and comfortable in the Ignite space; we will seek to protect and where possible, improve the well-being of the Ignite community and it’s individuals; we actively monitor and seek to mitigate risks to the organisation.

We are a learning organisation.
This means: we accept that not everything in our organisation will always be perfect; we are committed to continuous quality improvement of our service and our organisation; we encourage innovation and creativity in our projects and how our organisation is run.

We practice what we preach.
This means; we are committed to building and maintaining relationships with the communities that we serve; we will continue to think innovatively about the challenges facing Ignite as an organisation and the not for profit sector more generally and how we might address those challenges.

Our Board

Meet the Board

RACHEL MURDOCH

Rachel joined our Board in 2016 following stints as a both a consultant and member of the Ignite executive during her time at the University of Otago. She currently works as a lawyer, based in Christchurch. She previously served as the treasurer.

SopHIE OLIFF

Sophie is the current Chair of the Board. While completing her pharmacy degree at Otago, she joined Ignite to work with the Dunedin Curtain Bank project and subsequently became CEO in 2016. Sophie is the co-founder of a social enterprise and a not for profit organisation, both with fellow Ignite alumni. She currently works for Francis Health, using human-centred design to create transformative change in the health sector.

BLAIRE LODGE-PERRY

Blaire joined the Board in 2018 after mentoring a project team in Wellington. She currently works at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade leading on capability initiatives in the Pacific and Development Group. Blaire has previously worked in management consulting and local government in the UK and New Zealand. She currently serves as treasurer.

TASMAN GILLIES

Tasman currently works at Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu to support Ngāi Tahu whānui in achieving their aspirations to do with mahinga kai and the environment. Iwi, community and stakeholder engagement are core to his work. Tasman joined the Board in 2018 and is new to Ignite.

GRACE GOLLAN

Grace joined the Board in 2018 as Secretary. While studying an LLB/BA at Victoria University, she joined Ignite as a consultant and later spent time in various roles on the executive committee. Part of her Ignite journey involved learning about Design Thinking with the Dunedin CEO at the time, Sophie Oliff, and transferring her learning back to Ignite to help develop their model and consultant training approach. She currently works as a consultant for Aurecon, and regularly returns to Ignite to run Design Thinking training sessions with Sophie for new consultants.

Andy CUNNINGHAM

Andy arrived from the UK in 2002 after a career in strategy, planning and marketing in the UK finance industry. In New Zealand he both ran his own business, and was a consultant for
the University of Otago for several years. In the last decade he has been involved with a number of charities, most recently The Wildlife Hospital – Dunedin.

He became an Ignite mentor in 2016, and joined the Board in 2019.

Alex wiltshire

Alex joined the Board in 2019 where he helps with the legal portfolio. Alex's affiliation with Ignite began in 2016 as a consultant in Dunedin and enjoyed the experience so much that he consulted on two alumni projects in 2017 and 2018, and remained involved as a member of the Ignite Alumni Committee after leaving Dunedin. Alex studied law and commerce at the University of Otago, and now works as a lawyer in Auckland, specialising in commercial litigation.

SopHIE OLIFF

Sophie is the current Chair of the Board. While completing her pharmacy degree at Otago, she joined Ignite to work with the Dunedin Curtain Bank project and subsequently became CEO in 2016. Sophie is the co-founder of a social enterprise and a not for profit organisation, both with fellow Ignite alumni. She currently works for Francis Health, using human-centred design to create transformative change in the health sector.

BLAIRE LODGE-PERRY

Blaire joined the Board in 2018 after mentoring a project team in Wellington. She currently works at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade leading on capability initiatives in the Pacific and Development Group. Blaire has previously worked in management consulting and local government in the UK and New Zealand. She currently serves as treasurer.